BACKGROUND Idiopathic non-cirrhotic portal hypertension(INCPH)is mainly associated with thrombophilia in Western countries.Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria(PNH)is a rare hematologic disease that manifests with hemo...BACKGROUND Idiopathic non-cirrhotic portal hypertension(INCPH)is mainly associated with thrombophilia in Western countries.Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria(PNH)is a rare hematologic disease that manifests with hemolytic anemia,thrombosis,and peripheral blood cytopenias.Portal and hepatic venous thrombosis were reported in PNH.A rare case of INCPH complicating PNH is described.CASE SUMMARY A 63-year old woman with a 2-year past medical history of PNH without treatment was admitted because of jaundice and refractory ascites requiring large volume paracentesis.Liver histology revealed portal venopathy with portal fibrosis and sclerosis,nodular regenerative hyperplasia,parenchymal ischemic changes,and focal sinusoidal and perivenular fibrosis without bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis,all indicative of INCPH.The flow cytometry confirmed PNH diagnosis and eculizumab treatment was initiated.Her condition was improved gradually,bilirubin was normalized 6 months following initiation of eculizumab,and 1 year later diuretics were stopped.CONCLUSION Eculizumab improved intravascular hemolysis and reversed clinical manifestations of INCPH in a patient with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.展开更多
Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a rare disease characterized by thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure. Atypical HUS (aHUS) accounts for approximately 10% of all HUS cases. The pathogenesis of aHUS is mainly ...Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a rare disease characterized by thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure. Atypical HUS (aHUS) accounts for approximately 10% of all HUS cases. The pathogenesis of aHUS is mainly associated with gene mutations in complement factor H, complement factor I, and membrane cofactor protein (MCP). The prognosis of aHUS is generally poor.展开更多
BACKGROUND Interferons(IFNs)are characterized by a wide range of biological effects,which justifies their potential therapeutic use in several pathologies,but also elicit a wide array of adverse effects in almost ever...BACKGROUND Interferons(IFNs)are characterized by a wide range of biological effects,which justifies their potential therapeutic use in several pathologies,but also elicit a wide array of adverse effects in almost every organ system.Among them,renal involvement is probably one of the most complex to identify.CASE SUMMARY We describe four cases of kidney damage caused by different IFN formulations:IFN-β-related thrombotic microangiopathy,IFN-β-induced systemic lupus erythematosus,and two cases of membranous nephropathy secondary to pegylated-IFN-α2B.In each case,we carefully excluded any other possible cause of renal involvement.Once suspected as the casual relationship between drug and kidney damage,IFN treatment was immediately discontinued.In three cases,we observed a complete and persistent remission of clinical and laboratory abnormalities after IFN withdrawal,while the patient who developed thrombotic microangiopathy,despite IFN withdrawal and complement-inhibitor therapy with eculizumab,showed persistent severe renal failure requiring dialysis.CONCLUSION This case series highlights the causal relationship between IFN treatment and different types of renal involvement and enables us to delineate several peculiarities of this association.展开更多
The recurrence of renal disease after renal transplantation is becoming one of the main causes of graft loss afterkidney transplantation. This principally concerns some of the original diseases as the atypical hemolyt...The recurrence of renal disease after renal transplantation is becoming one of the main causes of graft loss afterkidney transplantation. This principally concerns some of the original diseases as the atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome(HUS), the membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis(MPGN), in particular the MPGN now called C3 glomerulopathy. Both this groups of renal diseases are characterized by congenital(genetic) or acquired(autoantibodies) modifications of the alternative pathway of complement. These abnormalities often remain after transplantation because they are constitutional and poorly influenced by the immunosuppression. This fact justifies the high recurrence rate of these diseases. Early diagnosis of recurrence is essential for an optimal therapeutically approach, whenever possible. Patients affected by end stage renal disease due to C3 glomerulopathies or to atypical HUS, may be transplanted with extreme caution. Living donor donation from relatives is not recommended because members of the same family may be affected by the same gene mutation. Different therapeutically approaches have been attempted either for recurrence prevention and treatment. The most promising approach is represented by complement inhibitors. Eculizumab, a monoclonal antibody against C5 convertase is the most promising drug, even if to date is not known how long the therapy should be continued and which are the best dosing. These facts face the high costs of the treatment. Eculizumab resistant patients have been described. They could benefit by a C3 convertase inhibitor, but this class of drugs is by now the object of randomized controlled trials.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND Idiopathic non-cirrhotic portal hypertension(INCPH)is mainly associated with thrombophilia in Western countries.Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria(PNH)is a rare hematologic disease that manifests with hemolytic anemia,thrombosis,and peripheral blood cytopenias.Portal and hepatic venous thrombosis were reported in PNH.A rare case of INCPH complicating PNH is described.CASE SUMMARY A 63-year old woman with a 2-year past medical history of PNH without treatment was admitted because of jaundice and refractory ascites requiring large volume paracentesis.Liver histology revealed portal venopathy with portal fibrosis and sclerosis,nodular regenerative hyperplasia,parenchymal ischemic changes,and focal sinusoidal and perivenular fibrosis without bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis,all indicative of INCPH.The flow cytometry confirmed PNH diagnosis and eculizumab treatment was initiated.Her condition was improved gradually,bilirubin was normalized 6 months following initiation of eculizumab,and 1 year later diuretics were stopped.CONCLUSION Eculizumab improved intravascular hemolysis and reversed clinical manifestations of INCPH in a patient with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.
文摘Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a rare disease characterized by thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure. Atypical HUS (aHUS) accounts for approximately 10% of all HUS cases. The pathogenesis of aHUS is mainly associated with gene mutations in complement factor H, complement factor I, and membrane cofactor protein (MCP). The prognosis of aHUS is generally poor.
文摘BACKGROUND Interferons(IFNs)are characterized by a wide range of biological effects,which justifies their potential therapeutic use in several pathologies,but also elicit a wide array of adverse effects in almost every organ system.Among them,renal involvement is probably one of the most complex to identify.CASE SUMMARY We describe four cases of kidney damage caused by different IFN formulations:IFN-β-related thrombotic microangiopathy,IFN-β-induced systemic lupus erythematosus,and two cases of membranous nephropathy secondary to pegylated-IFN-α2B.In each case,we carefully excluded any other possible cause of renal involvement.Once suspected as the casual relationship between drug and kidney damage,IFN treatment was immediately discontinued.In three cases,we observed a complete and persistent remission of clinical and laboratory abnormalities after IFN withdrawal,while the patient who developed thrombotic microangiopathy,despite IFN withdrawal and complement-inhibitor therapy with eculizumab,showed persistent severe renal failure requiring dialysis.CONCLUSION This case series highlights the causal relationship between IFN treatment and different types of renal involvement and enables us to delineate several peculiarities of this association.
文摘The recurrence of renal disease after renal transplantation is becoming one of the main causes of graft loss afterkidney transplantation. This principally concerns some of the original diseases as the atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome(HUS), the membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis(MPGN), in particular the MPGN now called C3 glomerulopathy. Both this groups of renal diseases are characterized by congenital(genetic) or acquired(autoantibodies) modifications of the alternative pathway of complement. These abnormalities often remain after transplantation because they are constitutional and poorly influenced by the immunosuppression. This fact justifies the high recurrence rate of these diseases. Early diagnosis of recurrence is essential for an optimal therapeutically approach, whenever possible. Patients affected by end stage renal disease due to C3 glomerulopathies or to atypical HUS, may be transplanted with extreme caution. Living donor donation from relatives is not recommended because members of the same family may be affected by the same gene mutation. Different therapeutically approaches have been attempted either for recurrence prevention and treatment. The most promising approach is represented by complement inhibitors. Eculizumab, a monoclonal antibody against C5 convertase is the most promising drug, even if to date is not known how long the therapy should be continued and which are the best dosing. These facts face the high costs of the treatment. Eculizumab resistant patients have been described. They could benefit by a C3 convertase inhibitor, but this class of drugs is by now the object of randomized controlled trials.